maintenance help on my biocube

[TEXASFIST210]

what is the best way to maintenance my 8 gallon biocube.
im starting to get that nasty purple and green algae.
what should i buy that would clean up my tank but will
not eat or pull off my coral?

[RayAllen]

When you say purple algae you aren't talking about coraline algae are you?

It could be cyano bacteria which isnt a algae at all.

Any pics would help us Identify.

[Big_Pun]

what exactly does this algae look like pics??is this algae on glass,rocks, or sand? also are you using rodi water, how frequent are your water changes, what type of filtration are you using in the rear chambers?

[TEXASFIST210]

there is purple on the sand and on rocks and green on the back. when is the best time to do water changes.
i am using everything the biocube came with i have not changed out stuff only filter pad

[RayAllen]

There isnt a best time. You want to do water changes to prevent things like this from happening. With a 8g tank you could do a 1g water change a week to get things back in check. Do not use tap water because it will only make the conditions worse. If you do not have a RO/DI or RO setup use store Reverse Osmosis or distilled bought water.

[Mr Cob]

Sounds like you may be over feeding too.

[TEXASFIST210]

im feeding the right amount

[RayAllen]

Excess algae problems are cause by

Bad water- to many nutritents, metals, etc
Too Much light- do not leave you lights on all day (I say 8hrs max)
Not enough flow
Bad sand- again to much nutrients, uneaten food
Detrius build up- Caused by not doing enough water changes
Over feeding


All these can be contributing. When you say you are feeding the right amount that tell us nothing. I feed my fish and corals every other day and very little when I do. What is the right amount to you?

We are trying to help but the devil is in the details.

[allan]

I've had purple algae and green algae develop in my tank... or rather the coraline growth. It's being eaten back by astreas star fish.

If that's your problem, not suggesting it is without photos so we could see your tank, I can certainly get a couple dozen of these starfish to you at Sunday's meeting.

But I've never had coraline growth in the sand bed which leads me back to thinking you've got cyano. How long has your tank been up and running?

[Big_Pun]

sounds like typical "biocube sydrome"(tm Stangchris), you need to slowly do some mods to that cube if its stock, you dont have to get of the bioballs just yet, first if you look at the first chamber on the top where it overflows cut that extra tab flush so more water can flow over, get ride of the factor carbon filter and run a sponge in the top of the second, some chemipure in the first chamber should help also,next either get a bigger water pump or add a nano koralia(smallest one)they have 2 nano versions now, the added flow will help with that algae on the sand bed, also with the nano k you can point the factory pump up to agitate the water surface and the nano k for flow to keep stuff suspended. also 1-2 gallons a week in water changes will help also.

[Big_Pun]

after things settle you can ditch the bioballs and add rockrubble

[Mr Cob]

I only said over feeding because the same thing happened to me when I added a pair of clowns to my 8 gal BioCube which was primarily a macro tank that I had up and running for over 6 months with ZERO problems...as soon as I added the clowns I started getting cyano algae all over the place....but cutting back feeding was not an option because they were babies....so I increased water changes.

Once the fish were gone, the cyano went away. I was feeding twice a day....which is overfeeding in a tank that small.

Pretty much "daily feeding" is "over feeding" in a stock 8 gal biocube...unless you have some mods and/or a sump working with it coupled with frequent, consistent and sufficient water changes.

[TEXASFIST210]

yeah i need to get rid of that clown he does eat to much.
when and how much of a water change i need to do mr cob?

[FireWater]

My opinion is back to back 2 gallon changes. 2 today and 2 tomorrow. When you do the water change you need to try to siphon as much of the crud out as possible. Smaller tanks can be difficult to keep stable. All of the mods that have been mentioned are great things to add in a little at a time. Are you able to get any pics? And have you tested your water that you adding with the top offs?